Valley power outages quickly repaired as another heat wave builds

July 17, 2012|By Tracy Jordan, Of The Morning Call

PPL has restored service to all but about 200 customers who lost power Sunday following brief thunderstorms that moved eastward across the Lehigh Valley — just in time for what could be the Lehigh Valley's fourth official heat wave of the season.

As of 8 p.m. Monday, PPL Utilities and Met-Ed reported outages for about 170 customers in Lehigh and Northampton counties customers compared with about 6,000 at the height of Sunday's storm. Most of the affected customers were in Lower Macungie Township.

The storm arrived in the Lehigh Valley about 7 p.m. Sunday, leaving a trail of downed wires from fallen trees and branches. No major damage was reported.

PPL reported outages affecting 153 customers in Lower Macungie, six in Allentown and one in Upper Milford Township on Monday night. PPL had just nine without electricity in Northampton County; all nine were in Allen Township.

Met-Ed, a subsidiary of First Energy Corp., had fewer than five outages in Northampton County by Monday night and 13 customers without power in Berks County.

The restoration of electrical service comes just as temperatures begin to heat up for what could become the Lehigh Valley's fourth official heat wave, marked by three consecutive days of 90-degree or higher temperatures.

The forecast for and Wednesday is for temperatures in the low to mid-90s, with Wednesday expected to be the most uncomfortable of the three days because of humidity brought on by dew points in the mid- to upper 60s.

The source of the hot and humid weather is a high-pressure system anchored off the Mid-Atlantic Coast. The heat index or real-feel temperatures will be in the 100- to 105-degree range Wednesday in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia regions.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Lehigh and Northampton counties for 1 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Another advisory or possibly even a warning is in the offing for Wednesday as well, but the National Weather Service will wait for more data first.

Excessive heat warnings were issued for the Philadelphia region, including Bucks and Montgomery counties, for 1 p.m. Tuesday until 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The high temperature Monday was 90 degrees. If temperatures hit 91 or higher as forecast Tuesday and Wednesday at Lehigh Valley International Airport, it will become the Lehigh Valley's fourth official heat wave of the season.

The first two heat waves lasted three days each, June 20-22 and June 28-30. The third heat wave ended July 8 after six consecutive days of 90-degree or higher temperatures.

The death toll from the last heat wave included three deaths in Lehigh County and three in Montgomery County.